<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I'm going to be a senior this year, and I thought I had my list of schools to apply to figured out. I live in North Carolina and was planning on applying to a lot of schools in state with good engineering programs (UNC-CH and NC State being my top two but they are far away from my home). Only problem is, I'm not sure how I can afford college at all.</p>
<p>I have a 3.5 GPA unweighted, 780 Math SAT, 620 CR, 590 Writing. I have always struggled in reading and writing since english is not my first language. My hs requires us to take college level classes to fulfill graduation requirement, so I have taken english, science, math, and social science classes. I will be finishing the more advanced classes this year. So far I have a 3.7 GPA at the college. I have planned it out so that most of my general requirements for an engineering program will be completed before I start at a university, so that I can focus my time into engineering classes and doing research.</p>
<p>My parents make a decent salary but cannot put funding toward college, but I don't think I will qualify for financial aid or scholarships since my grades and scores are not that great and I am not at the very top of my class. I am willing to take out loans by myself, but don't want private loans or my parents to take out loans. With tuition alone being over $8000, I do not know what to do and do not know where to apply now.</p>
<p>UNC is not a great choice for engineering in general - they only offer Biomedical and Environmental Engineering. Besides NC State, UNC-Charlotte is your other in-state choice with comprehensive engineering college.</p>
<p>You should not say your stats are “not that great”! 1400 SAT and 3.5 GPA are good, and could win you big merit scholarships at the right schools.</p>
<p>I would definitely add UNC-Charlotte to your list, based on their engineering programs and greater possibility of merit aid than NC State. </p>
<p>I would also suggest looking at the sticky threads at the top of this forum - the financial aid FAQ and the Automatic scholarship list. With your stats you could get large merit scholarships at schools with good engineering programs like University of Alabama and Louisiana Tech, for instance.</p>
<p>With 3.5 gpa and 1400 SAT (reading/math), you can get a full tuition scholarship at Univ of AL</p>
<p>[Out-of-State</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html]Out-of-State”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html)</p>
<p>That leaves about $12,000/yr for room, board, misc. I think there is an additional $2,500 scholarship for engineers.</p>
<p>Yes…Alabama would give you free tuition and 2500 per year for being an engineering student. The app is live now, so apply. And submit the scholarship app. </p>
<p>Since your parents won’t pay and you won’t qualify for enough need based aid, your only hope is huge scholarships. Bama can be a good financial safety for you.</p>
<p>Are your parents saying that they can’t pay one dime? Ask them if they can help with meal plan or other costs since they won’t be feeding you at home.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your help, Alabama will certainly be going on my list. I am already planning on applying to UNCC, but I am interested in Biomedical engineering, so that’s why I liked UNC-CH too.</p>
<p>As far as my parents go, we have a very uncomfortable relationship. I try not to anger them anymore and just try to work as hard as possible. I am an only child, but many of my cousins were able to go to schools like Harvard, Yale, etc. so I’m always being compared to that. Since I can’t meet those standards, am not at the top of my class, didn’t get a high score on the SAT, AND do not show interest in being a doctor, we disagree. If I could do any of those things it would be fine, but it is what it is. Around 8th grade I expressed interest in doing engineering after doing an after school club, and that’s when my dad first got the idea that I should provide for myself once I graduate high school. He’s been stuck that way ever since. So long story short, they won’t contribute at all once I am 18. Even when I’m home I will most likely be fending for myself, which is fine. </p>
<p>That situation sucks, but there’s not much I can do about it but work hard and do my best in the field I am passionate for. Sorry for the rant lol, but yeah.</p>